"Library"

Birdtapes

Artists:

The Maryland-based group Julia Brown will instantly grab the ear of anyone who loves homemade indie-pop. "Library", off their casually sprawling full-length to be close to you, beckons immediately with its inviting sound-- lo-fi, low-lit, intimate-- but it lingers because of the group's unusually well-crafted songwriting. The song sounds like it was recorded straight to Walkman in an attic, but the details shine through anyway: the way the kick drum and bass accent unexpected notes off Sam Ray's shimmering lead riff, the slightly wobbly viola and cello, and how they sync up with the keyboards. The song picks up in a sloppy, excited way before settling down every few bars.

If you collect little songs like this in your life-- ones that glow gently with innate musical intelligence even when the edges aren't cut right, ones that bear the reassuring smudge marks of their makers' untrained enthusiasm but also dig their mysterious way into your heart-- Julia Brown will slide right past your defenses.